LANCASTER, Pa. -- A hometown grad is getting a chance to play under the bright lights.

Chris Heisey, who graduated from Donegal High School, and later Messiah College, got the call late Thursday night from the Cincinnati Reds, according to Messiah College baseball coach Bryan Engle.

Heisey, an outfielder, hopped a flight early Friday morning to St. Louis, where the Reds begin a three-game set against the Cardinals.

Engle wrote in an e-mail to News 8 that Heisey is the first player ever to reach the big leagues for Messiah College. He's the second Donegal grad to make it to the major leagues. The first was Bruce Sutter.

You can view Heisey's Reds profile page here.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 01:30 PM

Nice find.

Glad to see him get a chance. If he hits he should be the every day LF. Solid bat, solid defender, solid baserunner. Hope his season last year translates because hes a great fit for this team.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 01:31 PM

BTw how on earth did you find that lol

Griffey012

04-30-2010, 01:32 PM

This is Heisey's chance to take the reigns on a full time starting gig. Lets hope for the best.

batsfan

04-30-2010, 01:39 PM

BTw how on earth did you find that lol

Google news

GIDP

04-30-2010, 01:40 PM

Google news

Figured.

batsfan

04-30-2010, 01:41 PM

This is Heisey's chance to take the reigns on a full time starting gig. Lets hope for the best.

Hopefully he will start tonight.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 01:43 PM

Id have to imagine its going to be Nix or Gomes in LF tonight. Id start him tomorrow for sure though.

batsfan

04-30-2010, 01:46 PM

Id have to imagine its going to be Nix or Gomes in LF tonight. Id start him tomorrow for sure though.

Maybe he couls start cf, stubbs did not get last night off, and another righty is pitching. Of course, stubbs did go 2-2, but id see if heisey could be the solution for the leadoff spot.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 01:50 PM

Maybe he couls start cf, stubbs did not get last night off, and another righty is pitching. Of course, stubbs did go 2-2, but id see if heisey could be the solution for the leadoff spot.

I hate taking Stubbs and his glove out of the game. I know Heisey is a balanced guy but hes not Stubbs out there. An outfield D of Bruce, Stubbs, and Heisey might be the best in major league history. Obviously I have no way of really telling or any stats to back a claim like that up but I can still say it cant I? lol.

Red in Atl

04-30-2010, 02:24 PM

Start him in Left and bat him 7th (for now) and I hope he stays in the bigs for a long time.

batsfan

04-30-2010, 02:46 PM

I hate taking Stubbs and his glove out of the game. I know Heisey is a balanced guy but hes not Stubbs out there.

Sure, but the same could be said about Taveras and Patterson. I'm not saying Stubbs is going to be like those players, but Heisey has impressed me much more then Stubbs. Stubbs has great speed and defense, but Heisey seemed to also be above average in those categories. He also has a very nice arm, and good line drive power. Heisey is a much more complete player then Stubbs.

Hey Meat

04-30-2010, 03:01 PM

Janish down? What spot opened this up?

batsfan

04-30-2010, 03:21 PM

Janish down? What spot opened this up?

Dickerson to DL.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 03:25 PM

Sure, but the same could be said about Taveras and Patterson. I'm not saying Stubbs is going to be like those players, but Heisey has impressed me much more then Stubbs. Stubbs has great speed and defense, but Heisey seemed to also be above average in those categories. He also has a very nice arm, and good line drive power. Heisey is a much more complete player then Stubbs.

Stubbs with Bruce and Heisey around him makes a great OF. Stubbs isnt hitting right now but hes still getting on base something Willy and Patterson could never do. The fact is that Stubbs isnt even hitting and still doing better than those guys do. Not to mention Willys D was brutal. The only thing Stubbs isnt doing right now is putting the bat on the ball enough. Too many swings and misses even for someone like Stubbs who is probably going to strike out a lot his whole career. Great baserunning, great D, good eye. Someone you could be very happy with.

I think as a package Bruce, Stubbs and Heisey could make one hell of an outfield. I'm not going to scream if Heisey plays center over Stubbs but I'm not going to like it.

Red in Atl

04-30-2010, 03:32 PM

BTW...Willy T is now batting .154 for the Nationals. Take note whoever posted his first two games of the season as if he was some kind of stud.

Burn Willy T, burn...

nemesis

04-30-2010, 03:58 PM

It may not be the best Defensive outfield in ML history... But it'll be the best in the Majors right now and have to be in the top 2 or 3 of Reds History. Of course they'll just go to waste when Leake's on the mound. ;)

Other than the balls Cabrera misses two steps left or right... :)

If Janish and Hanigan play in the same lineup iwth Heisey that has to be top to bottom the top D line up ever fielded as a collective group in Reds History... Now if he could just hit .270 with an OBP of around .340 in the 2 hole...

1990REDS

04-30-2010, 04:07 PM

I really hope he works out in left. gomes and nix are not gonna work out over the long haul.

texasdave

04-30-2010, 04:11 PM

How long does a player stay on the DL for a sprained wrist? A regular player not a Dickersonian player.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 04:23 PM

How long does a player stay on the DL for a sprained wrist? A regular player not a Dickersonian player.

if its a sprained wrist and not something more then probably just the 15 day.

Jerome

04-30-2010, 04:29 PM

So it seems like Heisey is pretty average across the board. Am I missing something? From five years in the minors, I'm seeing below average OF power, above average speed, up and down batting stats (.269 BA in 324 AAA ABs). I'm just trying to understand the exclamation point in the title of this thread, that's all!

GIDP

04-30-2010, 04:39 PM

So it seems like Heisey is pretty average across the board. Am I missing something? From five years in the minors, I'm seeing below average OF power, above average speed, up and down batting stats (.269 BA in 324 AAA ABs).

Good above average speed. 85% stolen base success rate on the bases.

Good line drive gap to gap power with the ability to hit a few home runs. Very solid Isolated power numbers.

Good contact, good eye, only struck out in about 13% of his PA across his minor league career.

Above average D at all 3 positions in the outfield. More suited for a RF or LF job. Strong arm.

Overall hes a very solid ball player that doesnt do anything amazing but does everything well. He doesnt have the upside of a Jay Bruce but he should translate to a decent major league outfielder even if he doesnt produce at his highest level. If i had to compare his numbers to a player on the reds probably compare him to Rolens batting. Thats just what I would suggest he could be.

Thats my scouting report on the guy.

cbowen2112

04-30-2010, 04:53 PM

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2010/04/30/more-heisey/

Knightro28

04-30-2010, 04:56 PM

Overall hes a very solid ball player that doesnt do anything amazing but does everything well.

I don't know why but that sentence makes me super optimistic. Hopefully he will be able to translate everything into the big leagues.

Good luck Chris. We're all rooting for you.

aceace

04-30-2010, 06:16 PM

If Heisey gets a pie in the face this weekend... I'll be happy.

GIDP

04-30-2010, 07:42 PM

[qupte]An MRI on Chris Dickerson revealed that he has a broken hook on the hamate bone in his right wrist.[/quote]

Not good sounding.

Kingspoint

04-30-2010, 08:11 PM

He's on the 40-man roster anyway.

He can go down as quickly as he came up.

ian_madden

05-01-2010, 09:26 AM

I don't see Dusty starting Heisey at all this series. I wish they would have brought someone else up so Heisey could have regular ab.

nemesis

05-01-2010, 12:58 PM

[qupte]An MRI on Chris Dickerson revealed that he has a broken hook on the hamate bone in his right wrist.

Not good sounding.

Broken Hamate bone was what kept Alonso out half a season last year and totally robs a player of his power. Not that Dickerson showed much anyways.

The biggest thing this shows me is for such a big physically impressive guy he is about as fragile as crystal. The Dickerson experiment is over IMO. You cant count on him for any period of time. He has continuously proven that. So we sink or swim with Stubbs. He now has to PROVE he belongs in the Majors. The bright side is the team will now know going into 2011 if they have the CF of the future or need to go acquire someone else.

GIDP

05-01-2010, 01:03 PM

Yea Dickerson is gone for a few months and probably wont be right for a while after it. Wrist injuries pretty much kill a players ability to hit.